In what amounted to a cross-Capitol debate over national security, President Obama and former Vice President Cheney laid out their opposing views of national security in Washington today. The dueling speeches represented the culmination of a national security debate ignited by the release of the Bush torture memos last month.

An advocate for a more systematic approach to national security that would remain faithful to the Constitution, Obama criticized the Bush Administration for pursuing an “anything goes” policy that recklessly expanded federal power at the expense of civil liberties. Speaking at the National Archives, where the Constitution is housed, Obama cast an ideological light on the debate over Gitmo detainees. “If we cannot stand on our core values, then we are not keeping faith with the documents that are enshrined in this hall,” the President said.

Saying the Bush Administration “went off track” in the aftermath of 9-11, Obama redoubled his support for a swift closure of Guantanamo Bay. Obama said that the more than 250 detainees at Gitmo deserve to have their cases heard by military tribunals, and that convicted criminals should be held in high security prisons on American soil. He cited Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in asserting that it is ludicrous to think that America cannot find a secure place to house Gitmo’s 250 prisoners within its borders.

As Obama was concluding his speech, Vice President Dick Cheney was taking the podium across town at the American Enterprise Institute. Cheney berated the Obama Administration’s national security policy, saying it had removed a number of vital Bush-era safeguards against the terrorist threat. Moving out from behind the shadow of President Bush, Cheney called himself a “freer man” able to voice his personal views on national security and the future of Gitmo. Cheney criticized the Obama Administration’s decision to release the torture memos and leave the CIA open to scrutiny. He also applauded the efforts of interrogators who “prevented the violent death of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of people.”

Check out Politico’s analysis of the dueling speeches, and who’s telling the truth.

Photo courtesy writingjulie’s Flickr photostream (Creative Commons)